Redworm
by ClericalError
Summary: What if the Worm Entities visited the world of Pokemon? Follow Red as she starts her journey through a world filled with powerful people each pursuing their own agendas.
1. Redworm 1-1

Summary: What if the Worm Entities visited the world of Pokemon? Follow Red as she starts her journey through a world filled powerful people each with their own agenda.

 **Redworm 1.1**

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Oh, don't you worry young miss. I've seen this before. She should be coming around any minute now."

I opened my eyes and saw two silhouettes against a too bright light. As I moved my arm to shield my eyes I noticed the linoleum beneath me dug into my elbows and tailbone. Wait, why was I on the floor? Perhaps seeing my confusion one of the voices I heard responded. He sounded old.

"Your mother said you had quite the shock," the old man said.

Wait, was that ? I nodded dumbly as my memories caught up to me. Suddenly it all came back. What promised to be the best day of my life quickly turned into the worst. Today was the day that Professor Oak was going to give me my first Pokemon. Long hours spent in and around his lab doing whatever errands needed doing were going to pay off. He was going to trust me with a Charmander he had bred specifically for battling. Until this morning when the professor gave the pokemon to his nephew instead. This morning I jumped out of bed ready to begin the rest of my life, until my mother had told me the bad news. Now I wasn't sure if I could drag myself off of the kitchen floor.

"Now, now, none of that young lady." Mr. Fuji said. He knelt down and began to pat me on the shoulder. I brushed his hand off and pushed myself up into a sitting position.

"You don't understand. It's all ruined! I helped Professor Oak raise that Charmander from an egg. He's still growing, but I just knew that together we would be great." I said. It hurt to give voice to my dream. I knew this couldn't happen now, but I also wanted someone else to know what could have been.

"Why would he do this to?"

"I was not there, but I suspect I could offer a good guess." He waited for me to nod before continuing. "Professor Oak, while an admirable scientist, has absolutely no social awareness. His ideal life would be one surrounded by his research and with no interaction with other people at all. I do not think he remembers your name. I think he may not even know the first name of his secretary.

"The young Mr. Oak, while abrasive, has at least a modicum of social training. Enough to perform simple manipulations such as waiting for his uncle to be in an especially impatient mood and pestering him until he was given exactly what he wanted."

At that my shoulders slumped. I was beaten before I could even start, and by nothing more than a spoiled boy.

"Ah, giving up already? I didn't know that the future league champion would be so easily hindered. Perhaps I should find a different companion for my friend," Mr. Fuji said with a tragic note of finality in his voice. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, though.

"One of your friends?" I asked, almost breathless. Mr. Fuji was a weird old man. He never called himself a trainer or talked about owning pokemon. Instead any pokemon that accompanied him he called 'friends.' And what friends they were. I can remember him riding into town on the back of a Lapras who made the waters rise well above the high tide markers even at low tide. Once he was accompanied by a Golem who made Professor Oak's lab shake with every step it took. He was going to trust me with one of his pokemon? I only just noticed that my mouth was hanging open as I stared at him. I closed it with an audible snap.

"Yes, one of my friends. I daresay this one is a bit too young and energetic for me. I must warn you, though. Hers is a sad story, even though it has just begun. I sincerely hope that you two have plenty of good and happy chapters together to balance out the rough start she's had."

With that he pulled out a small pokemon that had been snuggled up in his robe. The pokemon was a light brown with a lighter tone over her chest. Tail to head she was not longer than Mr. Fuji's forearm, though he was reasonably tall. She was also wearing a skull over her head like a helmet. Underneath it I could just make out tear tracks running across the pokemon's face. As soon as I saw her I knew that she was special. She stood out in a way unlike any pokemon or person I had ever seen. Inexplicably Mr. Fuji's kind smile and my mother's tearful joy were hopelessly outshone by rise and fall of this little creature's chest. We were going to do such great things together.

With my new companion safely snuggled against my side I turned back to .

"What kind of pokemon is this? I've never seen one like her" I asked.

"Well, I believe that she may be a unique pokemon. Her mother was taken from her at a critical point in her development. I don't believe that she will turn out like others of her kind. She responds to the name 'Cubone' however." He said.

"What happened to her mother?" My own mom interjected.

Mr. Fuji's features drooped.

"A gang of criminals was targeting wild pokemon trying to force rares to emerge. I daresay they succeeded, but at a cost they did not foresee. Cubone's mother was able to hold them off, and her ghost is currently haunting their homes." He said.

"Are they going to get away with this?" I surprised myself with my demanding tone. At this, Mr. Fuji's features hardened. His look of anger and determination was one I had not seen on him before.

"No, they will not. But I take pride in valuing the well being of my friends above the ruin of my enemies." His face settled back into that of a kindly grandfather. "But let me not keep you from starting your journey, or myself from continuing mine."

My pack was cinched snugly around my chest, Cubone was sitting on my shoulder with her left hand buried in my hair, her right gripping a bone club, and the door to my home was shut behind me. Undoubtedly mom was watching me through the kitchen window, but I had said my goodbyes and was now facing my future. I approached the trail that led through the fields north of Pallet Town. As I approached the trail head I was able to discern a figure lying down with his head pillowed by his backpack.

Evidently he saw me coming as he stirred and rose to his feet. Gary Oak. I didn't see him often. He visited his uncle Professor Oak for a week or two every year. Every time we did meet it was decidedly unpleasant. He would bully me or others, and make demands of adults while acting like he was only getting what he deserved. Last week he had assumed that I would jump at the chance to be his girlfriend. His shin was still reminding him of my answer. Rather than trust me to know my own opinion, he actually said I was 'playing hard to get' and spread that rumor to everyone that would listen.

Now he had just tried to steal my dream, had indeed stolen a pokemon I had helped raise, and looked like he intended to make a nuisance of himself as I exited Pallet Town.

"Hi Red, glad to see you got a pokemon. Looks a little weird though. I can let you feed my Charmander, if you'd like. He's a cool pokemon, not some loser wearing bones." He called out.

I felt Cubone's grip beginning to pull my hair. She was letting Gary's words get to her. I knew better. I knew that he could seldom back up any of his boasts. The only thing he was good at was getting under peoples' skin. I fixed him with a stare.

"..."

"Ah, classic Red. Well, if you don't want to talk how about a battle?" Without waiting for my response he flung a pokeball towards me. Charmander appeared in a flash of red.

"Charmander, use Ember!"

Cubone and I both pushed off of each other to avoid the burst of flame that headed our way. As I fell towards the ground it occurred to me that Cubone and I hadn't trained at all yet. Despite that, I felt confident. I knew just what to do.

"Cubone, Fissure!" As she landed she struck the ground with her club. A tiny crack appeared and rocketed towards the Charmander who was catching its breath. Before he could move the fissure traveled beneath him and his foot was trapped.

"Charmander use Ember again!"

"Cubone, spiral in!" I'm not sure why I was sure that Cubone would know what I meant, but she did. She started running around and slowly towards the Charmander. He twisted as much as he could to keep track of her, but was forced to expose his back as his foot was thoroughly stuck.

"Now!"

Cubone leapt inward and struck Charmander with a Pound of her club. The pokemon fainted right away. It must have been quite a hit.

"Well, I guess the pokemon I got wasn't that strong after all. He's useless if he can't even beat a little baby crying still crying for its mommy," Gary said. I clenched my fists.

"Boneclub!" I ordered. Cubone got my meaning and immediately struck Gary in the shin. Huh. Looks like she hit almost exactly the same spot I had kicked.

As Gary whimpered on the ground I made my way towards his Charmander. The poor pokemon couldn't help it if his owner was a jerk. I worked at the dirt around his foot until his ankle came free. As I did I noticed that his eyes were only half lidded. He had heard what Gary said.

"Charmander," I whispered fiercely. "You are not useless!"

His eyes opened fully and stared into mine. I felt he understood me. He understood how much I wanted for him to be my pokemon. We were both disappointed that he ended up with Gary, but there was nothing either of us could do about it.

"Unfortunately, I can't say the same for your trainer." I added with a grin. That seemed to restore some of the Charmander's humor, and it let out cry that sounded like laughter.

I stood up.

"Come on Cubone, we have a journey to start."

AN: Cross-posted from SpaceBattles


	2. Redworm 1-2

**Redworm 1.2**

" _They say that some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them._

 _"But they are wrong. Everyone who is great has worked for it. No matter what sets one upon the way to greatness there will always be obstacles. Overcoming those obstacles is what truly makes one great." Mr. Fuji_

"Pidgey, use Gust!"

The miniature whirlwind passed just to the left of a pile of leaves that would have blinded Cubone. Gust did strike her, doing minor damage. Cubone was about to close the distance and probably pound Pidgey into submission.

"Use Fly!"

The pokemon flew up beyond the reach of Cubone. This was troubling. Pidgey had a type advantage against Cubone. Some of her best moves wouldn't even affect the bird pokemon. This should be easy for Pidgey. Somehow Cubone's hits always had more effect than they should, and somehow the connection that I had instantly formed with Cubone didn't extend to Pidgey. Whatever tactic I thought of on the fly would be immediately apparent to Cubone with only a few shouted words. Pidgey didn't have that. Maybe Pidgey just wasn't quite as bright as my first pokemon. Maybe he'd just require more training to build a familiarity with me and my tactics. That was probably it.

A red sun just barely shone on us from the West. It would be dark soon despite the time, but I knew we were closing in on Viridian City.

"Pidgey, fly up and see if we'll make it to the city tonight."

The bird leapt off of my left shoulder and started spiralling up into the sky. I followed his progress, but could no longer make him out after he ascended a few hundred feet. The smoke was thick today. I looked towards the northwest and saw a flicker of red pierce the haze. The Elite Four must have their hands full today.

Pidgey returned a few shades grayer and I set about dusting the ash off of his feathers.

"Smoke's pretty heavy today, could you see the city?" I asked.

Pidgey responded with a negative chirp.

"I thought it might be like that." I said. "We'll have to set up camp in about an hour then."

We walked on.

Viridian City came into view. I had seen it before, but now that I was a bit older I was more capable of understanding what I saw. The western half of the city was nothing but scorched pillars, harsh ravines, and blackened roads. A few incursions to the grey wasteland marked construction that had occurred after the Viridian Burning. A structure larger than any other was being built far to the the Northwest of the town. This would be the new gym. There hadn't been one before the Burning, but now this city probably needed one the most. The leader must be a powerful trainer. No one else would dare build a gym this close to Victory Road.

That drew my eyes far to the west. I could just make out the great chasm separating the city from the path to the Elite Four. Unlike like the scars in the earth that crisscrossed the western half of the city, this gorge was caused by ice. A single bridge offered access to Victory Road.

I set my eyes to the untouched east and went looking for a fight.

"Boneclub!"

The opposing Machop was hit in the back of the knee and collapsed. Without waiting for orders Cubone quickly set her club against the back of the fighter's head, offering a submission rather than further injuring the pokemon.

The trainer, one who looked like he aspired to be as fit as a Machoke, recalled his pokemon and paid up. I wondered how Cubone knew what I was thinking. We'd fought all day. All kinds of trainers and pokemon littered the streets of the Viridian City. Cubone tended to knock them out with only a few blows, even pokemon that had trained for far longer than she. It ended up feeling less like fighting and more like inflicting injuries. Not only had Cubone managed to make every one of her hits count for maximum damage, but had somehow figured out that I didn't want to hurt our opponents more than necessary.

Pidgey had also fared well, but not conspicuously so. He won all fights with a type advantage, picked up a few with a type disadvantage, and about two thirds of those with type not giving any clear advantage. Hours of flying and attacking drills as I walked had had their effect.

I doubted a gym fight would prove this easy. I desperately hoped that that it wouldn't.

Viridian Forest alternated between barely lit twilight and absolute darkness. Given the amount of poisonous pokemon living there I would try to make it through in a single day. I left behind the first rays of sunshine as I entered the forest.

The trail quickly narrowed. Half an hour in it was barely more than a run for wild pokemon. False trails appeared regularly. It was clear to me that if I left the trail I would have a hard time finding it again.

I let Pidgey make easy work of the various bug catchers wanting to battle. Meanwhile, I kept an eye open for any pokemon that might help me against the Pewter City Gym.

"Pidgey, stop!"

The other trainer's Caterpie had its back to the ground. Pidgey had dug his claws into its underbelly and was pecking at it ruthlessly. Pidgey obediently stopped pecking and the bug catcher called Caterpie back with a flash of red. He looked a bit younger than even me, and clearly had unshed tears in his eyes. I was trying to decide whether comforting him, or challenging him would help him better himself when I felt it.

Too bad I couldn't tell what 'it' was.

It was a little like feeling someone watching you. I cast my eyes around me, but nothing stood out. I continued on the trail, but the weird feeling didn't subside. Instead of being unsettled I was intensely curious. I wanted badly to find the source of this odd feeling. I knew that if I had any indication of where it was coming from then I wouldn't be able to resist leaving the path.

Hold on. The feeling was getting stronger. It was still painfully indistinct, but it pressed on my mind just a little bit more.

"Pidgey, go land back where you just battled. Cubone, stay here." If I could visualize the different point and how strongly I felt this, maybe I could pinpoint the source.

I walked forward, and the feeling built. This might be precise enough for me to feel when it stopped building and started to recede. I looked ahead up and down the trail. It was remarkably straight for now.

"Pidgey, Cubone come back. I've got another idea."

They came and we went onward slowly. After a short while I found the point at which I started to get further away from 'it.'

"Pidgey, stay here and sing until we come back."

Gentle tweets and whistles filled the air and Cubone and I took a sharp right turn into the forest. I knew almost immediately that it was the right direction. The feeling built and built and yet, I was even less able to identify it. It fuzzed and buzzed, but the fuzzed and static filled my head. Eventually I ended up staring at a tree trunk. Cubone looked up at me and cocked her head to the side.

"You think I'm crazy don't you?"

Cubone chose not to respond.

"I don't think I'm crazy. I do think something weird is happening. Something that has to do with this tree trunk." I pointed at a clearly suspicious bit of bark.

Cubone chose not to respond.

I sat down with my legs crossed and stared intently at the tree in question. My curiosity burned within me. I had to know what was causing this. Eventually, as the darkness darkened further, words came to me.

"Cubone, I'm glad we found each other." She turned my way with an inquisitive look.

"I think it would be terrible to be alone. It would be so easy to get hurt or lost. But we're stronger together. We can protect each other and have fun together. If we were each on our own, who knows what might happen?" My words hung in the air for moment. And another moment.

I did my best not to jump as a Caterpie suddenly appeared on the chunk of bark I had been staring at. It trilled at me hopefully.

"Certainly, Caterpie. Welcome aboard." I said with a smile as I shot a smug look at Cubone.

Cubone chose not to respond.


	3. Redworm 1-3

**Redworm 1.3**

" _You aspire to be great. I see the potential within you and I have no doubt that you will achieve it. It will not be long before us old folk are trading stories about you and what you have accomplished. It is my dearest hope that I will hear not only of your greatness, but your goodness as well." Mr. Fuji_

I had gotten back to the trail and Pidgey before total darkness set in, but only just. I couldn't make any more progress and was forced to spend the night in the creepy dangerous forest filled with nocturnal pokemon.

Great.

This seems like it would be the reason that I got hardly any sleep that night. There were cases of menacing buzzing sweeping across the walls of my tent. I swear I also heard mandibles chewing at the tent stakes. The truth was that my thoughts kept me up. I could avoid the conclusion no longer. I had powers. Subtle they might be, but no less for it.

At some point I had evolved and now I had some sort of special connection to other rare pokemon that evolved in this way. Cubone was one, Caterpie another. Pidgey wasn't. This explained why I had a sixth sense regarding some pokemon, and why those pokemon seemed to intuitively grasp so much more from my words than they should.

I idly stroked Pidgey's back, threading my fingers through his downy feathers. I was thankful for this pokemon. I didn't want to be the best trainer through lucking into a good power. Pidgey's successes meant that I could be a great trainer in my own right.

In a way this changed everything. I had something that I never even dared to hope for. I knew that most of the top trainers, those that went on to lead gyms or challenge the Elite Four, had powers. There were always a few without though. Those that made their way through determination and skill. I had always aspired to be one of those. It almost felt like I had betrayed that dream. My identity shifted to match with those I had planned on overcoming.

In another way, this changed nothing. I would still become the greatest trainer there ever was. I would still make my way there through hard work and friendship with my pokemon. I just had a new skill to train.

By the time I had finished thinking it had become slightly less dark. I set about packing up camp and made my way along the trail. Within a few hours I passed through the lodge marking the end of the Viridian Forest. The view on the other side stole my breath. High mountains encased Pewter Valley on all but the southern approach I had just taken. The sun was just peaking over the Mount Moon and its range. Light spilled across the valley. I looked down the switchbacks I was about to traverse, across the fields of crops, and could just make out the buildings that made up Pewter City against the northern mountains. To the west of the town I saw mountains taller than any I had yet seen. No one had found a pass through them to the Indigo Plateau luckily enough. The mountains were high enough to keep out all the smoke and ash that often found their way to Viridian City.

"It is quite the view, is it not?" A voice startled me out of my pondering.

I looked down the ledge to see a camp, nothing more than a small tent, a fire, and an old man sitting on a log. An old man with a white beard, a bald head and wire rimmed glasses.

"Mr. Fuji?!"

"Indeed." He smiled up at me. "Would you care to sit for a cup of tea with an old man?"

I nodded and made my way down to sit on the fallen log with him. He handed me a small cup. I held it with both hands and the warmth felt glorious in the cold morning. I took a slow sip. It was, of course, my favorite of Mr. Fuji's blends, Url Gray I think he called it, made just how I like it. He was always so thoughtful, and treated everyone he met like his favorite grandchild.

"Thank you Mr. Fuji."

He gave me a small smile, and turned to me as he finished making his own cup.

"You are very welcome. Now, how has your journey been?"

His smile was still there, and it felt genuine, but there was something off about it. I studied his face. Shadows under his eyes, wrinkles other than laugh lines, and a slight slump to his shoulders. He was very troubled over something. He was always looking out for me and for everyone. Maybe he needed to be looked after himself.

I sipped my tea as I tried to figure out the how to help.

"Red?"

Oh right, he asked me a question.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Fuji. I was just wondering what's making you so worried?" I cringed a bit at my directness, but I was afraid that if I didn't ask him now that I wouldn't get the chance to later.

"Hm, do you really care to hear the problems of the elderly?" He asked gently.

I nodded as solemnly as I could manage. I noticed his eyes crinkled and his lips twitch.

"Well, I am worried for the world, for a good friend of mine, and for you."

"For me?" I blurted out.

"Yes, for you. I trust you have discovered the significance of the day you fainted and started your journey." He stated calmly.

I nodded. "That must have been when I evolved."

"Indeed. Now do you know how odd this phenomenon of micro-evolutions is?'

I shook my head.

"Hmm. Well, it doesn't fit. Pokemon have been evolving in new ways for thousands of years that we have record of. I have made extensive search of all the records that I could find. I found that the amount of pokemon, wild and trained, that chose to battle was a small minority. Most kept pokemon as companions or as helpers in work. I have also made a survey of all those known to have experienced a micro-evolution. All but a tiny minority seek out violence in battling ad even crime."

A weight settled on my chest. I knew I wanted to battle and become the greatest trainer before I evolved, but I was unsettled by the idea of being forced to hurt others.

"Do you know why it's like that?" I asked.

"Unfortunately no. I suspect that someone or something is benefitting from this arrangement. It isn't me or you any other pokemon in this region."

That was even more unsettling. The micro-evolutions granted powerful abilities. If there was someone behind this then discovering them and defeating them would be nearly impossible. It was also something that might be influencing my actions.

"Is there any way to stop it?" I almost whispered. I was afraid of what his answer might be.

"Well. You must be careful in your actions. I have seen this influence at work and it can be both subtle and insidious. It will take good intentions and twist them until you are a terrible and cruel master. You must remember that for greatness the ends justify the means, but for goodness the means are the end. I hope that your tenacity and heart will keep you good, even on the path to greatness."

He smiled warmly as he finished. I could tell that talking had lightened his load, even if just a little. It had also helped me. I knew what to look for. What to be on guard against. He was right, I could do this. I would not only be the greatest trainer, but the best as well. My power might fight against me, but that was just another obstacle to overcome.

"Thank you Mr. Fuji, for the tea and the conversation."

With that I rose and set my feet towards Pewter City. I think I could just make out the shape of the gym in the distance.


	4. Interlude 1-1

**Redworm Arc 1 Interlude 1**

I pulled up the schedule for this week and frowned. Professor Oak had cancelled all of his appointments. Well, all of his appointments that weren't teleconferences with other scientists. My frown deepened. He even cancelled the photo op with the mayor of Pallet Town. That was the one thing I told him that he absolutely couldn't get out of.

I stood and pushed my chair back. I glanced at the clock: 4:30. I still had a chance to give him a good talking to before clocking out for the day. I had been looking for an excuse to ever since he gave that poor girl's pokemon away. The kid had been helping out in the lab pretty much since she could walk. Not that Oak ever noticed. You'd think it would kill the man to concentrate on anything other than his work. I was about to head into the lab when I heard the front door open.

It was one of the kids that ran about town, but his face was oddly blank and the way he moved seemed off. As he turned his gaze my way everything froze.

I stood and pushed my chair back. I glanced at the clock: 4:35. I still had a chance to give him a good talking to before clocking out for today. I had been looking for an excuse to ever since he gave that poor girl's pokemon away. The kid had been helping out in the lab pretty much since she could walk. Not that Oak ever noticed. You'd think it would kill the man to concentrate on anything other than his work.

I opened the door to the lab with ready to give the professor a good tongue-lashing. I stopped short. The lab was empty. I wonder when the professor managed to sneak past my office, and why he chose to skive off work today. It was the first time I could remember him doing so in the twelve years I had worked for him.

Well, I could ask him when I came in tomorrow. I returned to my office and set about making apologies for the professor.


	5. Redworm 1-4

**Redworm 1.4**

 _"When I was young, there was a group of people known for their work ethic. Others made fun of them and thought that if the most special thing about them was hard work, then they must not be very special. They didn't understand that nothing of importance is accomplished without a great deal of effort, often spread over a substantial amount of time." -Mr. Fuji_

I walked distractedly onwards. Seemingly endless switchbacks had given way to an easy slope leading down to Pewter City. Even after hours of hiking my mind was on the things Mr. Fuji had said. It was one thing to say that I was going to be both great and good, but what did that even mean? Being the greatest was easy. Defeat any trainer I come across, become the Pokemon League Champion, and stand in defence of Kanto. What trophy is there for being good? What deed do I have to do?

Wait. This is probably what he meant when he said that thing about means and ends. Greatness is about the end result, the accomplishment. Goodness was more about the way that you get there.

OK, that's a start. Now I just have to think about the way that I'm doing things. About the way that I plan to become the best, and make sure it's good. I slowed to a halt as I remembered all the broken bones, gashes, and concussions my pokemon had dished out. Pidgey had been hurt quite a few times as well. I never asked my pokemon if they wanted to fight. No one ever asked that of their pokemon. I turned around and kneeled to the ground.

"Hey guys." I addressed my pokemon. "I was just thinking. I, uh, hmm. I guess I wanted you to know that I am going to be the greatest and most powerful pokemon trainer ever. And, uh, the only way for me to get there is through a lot of fighting. Mostly by you. I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to. You can be free. You can come and go as you please. You can just be my friend without having to fight for me."

I looked at Cubone. Her feelings leapt out at me. There was the remembrance of helplessness, probably from whatever happened to her mother. What she wanted most was to be strong. To avoid ever feeling helpless again. I smiled and stroked her chin in just the right spot. Our goals meshed well and we both knew it. We would go through this whole journey together.

Pidgey took the opportunity to perch on my shoulder. His chest puffed out and he gave a loud chirp full of confidence pride. My power didn't give me a special connection, but we had been training together nonstop and I had gotten a feel for who he was. I think that being one of the most common pokemon made him want to stand out and be extraordinary. He was willing to work hard and suffer for his dream.

Caterpie was something a little different. She was lonely first of all. She wouldn't be willing to leave her friends so soon after making them. She was also afraid. Something terrible had happened to her, something bad enough to give her the ability to hide from anyone. She wanted the safety of strong friends, but she didn't see herself as a fighter. She didn't look forward to harming people, and wouldn't glory in training herself to her peak.

"Hey Caterpie. I think I get where you're coming from. We'll keep you out of trainer battles for now, but we might get into some dangerous situations. Can I count on you for those?" An eager whistle was the response.

"Great! You'll have to train with me, Cubone, Pidgey so they we can all work together to protect each other."

Contentment radiated at me from two sources and a third nuzzled my head from my shoulder.

I rolled to the side as ground erupted in a jagged line right where my foot had been. As I hit the ground I jarred my shoulder and rose into a crouch a bit slower that I had wanted to. I spun away as a length of bone whistled by my ear. I lifted my feet just in time to avoid a silken tripwire. Off balance and out of breath a sudden gust knocked me over. I felt talons poke into my chest as a beak closed gently around my nose.

Pidgey released my nose and took off to fly a few victory laps, singing merrily all the while. I slowly sat up. Bruises and scratches made themselves known. Well, the harder something is, the more likely that you needed to do it, right? I was pretty sure that I needed to do this. It was easy to only think of official battles where everyone followed the rules. But Kanto was a dangerous place. There was no safe place away from all the criminals. Criminals who wouldn't think twice about ordering their pokemon to attack a trainer. After all, the trainer was often the weakest and most essential part of the team. Taking them out was the easiest and had a good chance of immediately ending the fight.

I wouldn't let some lowlife put my friends in danger just because I couldn't dodge an attack. This led to the current bout of target practice for my pokemon. My moves had a long way to go before they were smooth and efficient. My power gave me an unreal advantage over any rare pokemon and trainers, though. I was grateful once again for Pidgey. Without him I'd probably get overconfident and then be taken unawares by a normal pokemon. Probably with something lame and embarrassing like a tackle.

I rose and dusted myself off.

"Again."

Pewter City. The town seemed to have grown up straight out of the ground. It was fairly hard to get to with passage only through the forest to the south or through a labyrinthine tunnel that connected to the outskirts of Cerulean City. The locals had largely decided against the cost of importing building materials. Instead rocks, both tiny and massive, made up the structures of the settlement.

I passed through the town heading straight for the gym. I knew only that it was located at the foot of the mountains to the north. The people I passed smiled at me and some even waved. They were isolated here from many of the tragedies that occurred elsewhere. The faces in Viridian came only in haunted or grimly determined variety. Here there was still room for kindness and idle curiosity, it seemed.

I saw the gym in the distance. It was a rocky dome that resolved itself into smaller sections of rock cobbled together as I walked closer. I looked over the neighboring mountainside. There was an entrance to a museum hidden in the sheer rock wall. The museum took advantage of a large hollowed out portion of the mountain that connected to the twisted tunnels underneath. They unearthed and studied the fossils of long-dead pokemon there.

Hmm. That might be it a bit west of the gym. It might actually be worth visiting once I got my first badge.

It was early evening when I entered the gym. There was a clamor of people in the foyer and a few running around with clipboards. I peered through a giant stone archway and saw a dark haired man using a crowbar to pry something from between two massive boulders.

Huh.

To the side of the archway I could see an inscription etched into the stone of the wall. I made my way through the crowd and took a closer look.

"This Gym is Established by the Kanto Defense League and Entrusted to the Leadership of Brock.

May the Strongest of Pewter City Protect it from All Perils."

"Excuse me miss, did you pre-register for tonight's matches?" I was interrupted by gangly teenager holding a clipboard.

"No." I said.

"Alright, that's fine. We do take walk-ins, you just might not be able to face your desired opponent." He carried on.

"Who would you like to face today?" He handed over a clipboard full of names I didn't recognize."

"I want to face Brock and get my badge." His lips thinned at my response.

"He doesn't take just any challenger. You need to prove that you're ready for that kind of fight."

He began to enumerate the rules and regulations for Badge Fights and I stopped listening and looked at the mane still working his crowbar at those rocks. I looked over the gathered crowd I could feel that there were a few rares spread about. I also saw that most of the trainers here had chosen to train Rock Type pokemon. It made sense. There were plenty around here, and little of anything else. Cubone would have a type advantage in almost any fight that took place here. Between that and both of our powers the prospect of fighting my way up the chain seemed like a sentence of execution by boredom.

I cut in when it seemed like Mr. Clipboard was winding down.

"Who's the strongest trainer that has a slot open tonight?" I asked.

I heard a dull thunk. Crowbar Dude had succeeded in separating a differently colored bit of rock from between the two boulders. Hmm. The two remarkably uniform boulders. In a line of similarly uniform boulders. Wow, my eyes widened in understanding. It was an onix. That pokemon was huge and notoriously hard to catch and tame. Crowbar Dude was grooming him.

"Hmmm, well." Mr. Clipboard snatched the clipboard back from my hands and peered at it intently. "Well, it looks like the second strongest trainer here is available. No one is eager to fight him. I'll go inform him of your challenge." He smiled and turned away. It wasn't a nice smile.

"Well Cubone, ready for a fight?" Her somber nod was nothing but adorable on Her small frame. I didn't doubt her though. She had taken on some tough opponents already, and performed admirably against them all. Still, I glanced apprehensively back at the Onix that was currently imitating a sizable amphitheater.

"The Boulder has a challenger!" A booming voice cried out. A corridor appeared as people cleared a path between me and a large man walking straight for me.

"The Boulder has waited for weeks for another to challenge him!" I noted that he appeared to be a rare. His bulky build matched his power. He would be very durable and strong.

"Who is it that wants to be crushed under the weight of the Boulder's greatness." I'm not sure how his powers would help him train pokemon though. Intimidation aside, he wasn't going to be doing much fighting. He could go into crime though and would probably fare as well as a well trained pokemon in fights. Wait, I probably shouldn't tell people that they'd be more successful as criminals.

"Has the Boulder's challenger backed down? Has he heard that the Boulder's pokemon learn from the best by fighting the Boulder himself?" The booming voice was positively thunderous now that he was so close. Oh right, this was probably the time for me to step forward and say something dramatic.

I stepped forward.

"Are you ready to fight?" I injected as much nonchalance as I could.

'The Boulder is always ready!" He flipped a pokeball out of his pocket. It exploded into red light that resolved itself into a Graveler.

"Look upon Graveler, the Boulder's sparring partner and the premature end to your fighting career. Are you sure that you want to do this, little girl?"

The Graveler did look like it had a more sophisticated fighting stance than your average pokemon. It's top arms were held high, ready to hammer down blows and its shorter forearms were loosely extended and ready to grapple. Most Graveler held those close against their more sensitive chests, but the Boulder evidently favored a bolder approach.

The hulking trainer continued talking. This might take longer than fighting my way through all the other trainers. I noticed that people had cleared out enough space for us to fight.

"-and furthermore, the Boulder regards all such…"

"Do you want to fight, or just talk all night." I interrupted as loudly as I could. I didn't get a lot of practice yelling at people.

He turned towards me and I felt the intention behind his first move. I was right. He was all about intimidation.

"Graveler, use tackle!" The rock pokemon began jogging towards Cubone and I, the ground shaking with each step. It was intimidating.

"Cubone. Trip it up, immobilize it, and then finish it off." I whispered. My power ensured that whatever I said was heard by whomever I spoke to, and understood in its full intent. It was almost tailor made for a pokemon trainer.

Cubone threw her club into the ground at the charging pokemon's feet. It tripped and sprawled towards Cubone's position. Cubone kicked off to the side opening a small chasm in which Graveler's outstretched arms got stuck. Cubone hurried to retrieve her bone and Graveler's momentum carried him forward past his immobilized arms and he flipped over and slammed into the ground. Two sharp cracks sounded as his upper arms rotated more than was natural. As the Graveler moaned and the Boulder shouted unheard orders Cubone leapt at his side wedged herself between his right under arm and his chest and started pound the more sensitive rock with her club.

Shortly thereafter Mr. Clipboard ran into the fighting area blowing a whistle and signaling the end of the match.

Mr. Crowbar, more commonly know as Brock, stood before me. His Onix made a pretty dramatic backdrop and was miles more intimidating than any posturing made by the Boulder.

"That was an impressive display. How many badges do you have so far?" He asked.

"After tonight I'll have one." He seemed amused by my response. I didn't get the joke, my answer was a simple enough statement of fact.

"Ah, that may be. Hm, for your first badge I won't make you face off against Onix, but you had no trouble with a highly trained Graveler. It puts me in a tough position. I think you'll…"

A violent rumble shook the entire building. Brock turned to Onix.

"Did that come from the Museum?" He said. Onix's low rumble must have been a yes.

"Red, would you care to join Pewter City's gym leader in the defense of its people?" He said. Without waiting for a response he and Onix turned and headed for a tunnel that opened into the back wall of the gym.


	6. Redworm 1-5

**Redworm 1.5**

" _You will be a great trainer, just as you wish to be. Your mind will be sharpened, your instincts honed, body strenghtened, but I hope your heart is not dulled." Mr. Fuji_

I was frozen in place. The tunnel loomed before me as I stood undecided. I knew it was the duty of trainers and members of a gym to protect the city. When I became the greatest trainer there would be no one who gave more to protect Kanto.

And yet, it had never felt real until now. I trusted my pokemon. They were strong and worked together seamlessly, but could I bet their lives on that? Battles in gyms and on the road had injuries and humiliation as the worst results possible. Battling against criminals had higher stakes, and fewer rules.

But I couldn't say no. Pidgey would be crushed. This would be telling him that all his hard work was for nothing and that he wasn't good enough when it counted. Cubone was barely restraining herself from running into the tunnel without me. She really didn't like criminals. Caterpie, well, I could feel her curl into a protective ball within my backpack. I wouldn't make her fight. If the worst happened it wasn't likely that anyone would find her. She could start again.

Not to mention myself. I wanted this more than anything. I was going to be the best and I wouldn't get there without taking a few risks.

Resolved, I jogged towards the tunnel.

The tunnel was dark. There was just enough light coming in from both ends that I didn't have to waste time rooting around my pack for a flashlight. It also helped that the tunnel floor was remarkably smooth. Another benefit of befriending an Onix, I guess.

As I near the other end of the tunnel I slowed down. It would do no good to arrive noisily and out of breath. I could hear scrapes and rumbles as the confrontation took place. The scene came into view. The Onix had a blue figure, a Machoke, wrapped up with the end of its tail. The Machoke's trainer was firing a gun at Brock, who had just successfully hidden behind his own massive pokemon. Which drew my attention to the cavern. It was truly massive. Even Onix looked small within it. Tunnel entrances of various sizes dotted the walls.

"Caterpie, get to the ceiling."

The Machoke groaned loudly. I saw his body relax as he fainted. I'm not sure if it was from the pain of broken bones or his inability to breathe while being squeezed so tightly. Onix wasted no time in flinging the bulky form at its trainer where both collapsed in a tangled heap.

I could tell the downed trainer was a rare, but now that he was unconscious I couldn't get as good of a read on him. Hmm, was it intentions and thoughts that fed into my sense?

Whatever the case, I felt another trainer make his way over from the entrance.

"Brock!" I shouted "Watch out for this one, he's dangerous!"

Brock shot a confused glance my way before turning to the approaching figure.

The stranger cut an imposing figure. He strolled confidently towards us, his gleaming black shoes making a barely audible tapping on the rocky floor. He wore a black suit with a red "R" emblazoned on the breast. As he came closer I could see he had a white bodysuit on underneath. Onix rumbled threateningly, but the man did not seem the least bit bothered by it. He radiated confidence and his power interacted with him in a way I hadn't seen before. I dropped into a slight crouch, preparing for sudden movement. I could feel Cubone mimicking my actions.

The stranger cast a casual glance towards the pile of Machoke and trainer.

"Ah. I see why my presence was required for tonight's caper. Your pokemon is quite impressive, Brock." A tight nod was all he got in response. The man seemed unsurprised. "Regardless, I should be getting on with things. It would be a shame to dither and give more interruptions a chance to arrive."

With that he tossed a pokeball in front of him. Onix lunged before the red light finished forming into a Rhyhorn.

"Rhyhorn, sandstorm," he said.

Almost immediately visibility dropped to almost nothing as whirling sand filled the entirety of the museum. I heard Onix's mass crash into the ground, and somehow knew that the stranger had evaded the attack. I was still trying to figure out his power when several shot rang out through the museum hall. They were louder than the ones that had been fired at Brock before, even through the drone and whistling of the sandstorm.

He was aiming at me and Cubone, I kicked her to the side and dove the other way, taking Pidgey with me. He had missed. Somehow he was aiming perfectly through the sandstorm. A sensory power? I rolled into another crouch and hoped that my power would give me enough warning to evade the follow-up shots and keep my pokemon safe. I waited. An eternity, or more probably half a minute, later and I realized something.

He didn't have a sensory power. He didn't know that he hadn't hit me and was ambling towards whatever he wanted to steal. The sandstorm started dying down, now that he didn't need it.

"Play dead," I whispered before taking my own advice.

The sand subsided almost completely. Onix was curled protectively around where Brock had been. His head was swaying back and forth around as he growled in all directions. As he faced me for a moment I could see small craters dug into his eyes.

Past the downed gym leader and incapacitated pokemon, the stranger was rooting around the section of cavern used as a lab. Actually, he wasn't searching. It looked like he was hardly paying attention to his own actions as he precisely removed certain petri dishes, chemicals, thumb drives and documents.

If I stayed down, he might notice me. He might be gone in moments, and I could get medical attention for Brock. I was sure he had been shot, but Onix's bulk prevented me from seeing even if he was still alive.

But this man was dangerous. I hadn't fully figured out his power, but I could tell his confidence wasn't for nothing. I couldn't just let him go if I could stop him.

"Caterpie, drop!" I whispered. She swiftly lowered herself along a silk line hanging from the high ceiling above the stranger. I waited until she was a few feet above him.

"Hold!" She stopped and a hand swiped at the location her former trajectory would have taken her.

"Now!" I shouted. Caterpie leapt for the gun and scurried off with it. She would jam its works with silk to hopefully remove it from this conflict.

The man seemed stunned. For a moment he did nothing but stare blankly at the hand that hadn't intercepted Caterpie's attack. I made good use of this opportunity and ran to close the distance between us. As we went I recalled Pidgey to his pokeball. Unfortunately I would need all my pokemon to adapt to exactly what I needed in a moment for this battle. He squawked indignantly as he entered the pokeball for only the second time.

"Cubone, fissure!" She took a running leap and struck the ground hard. The resulting crack went straight for the man who nimbly stepped aside.

He muttered something and his Rhyhorn pried a boulder off of the ground and flung it in my path with a snap of his neck. As soon as it was in the air I was sliding underneath it. The gentle rush of wind as it passed just above my face was a reminder of what was at stake here.

I came back to me feet and continued to rush forward. The man's brows were furrowed, clearly trying to puzzle out my power.

"Cubone!" I yelled. "Fissure!" She took the same great leap as before and as she was just starting to come down I heard it.

Step to the right. His power whispered to him and he was moving immediately. Before Cubone came down I instructed "Aim left!" while clearly picturing the man's movements in my mind. Cubone altered her aim at the last moment and the crack appeared in the earth just as the man put his right foot down into it.

He stared at his captured foot in shock before he turned to me and grinned. He causally drew a gun, this one substantially smaller than what he used to down Onix, and put a few rounds into the ground around his foot. Of course he was staring straight at me as he did so, and of course the brittle rock crumbled just so and his foot was free.

I skidded to a halt about 10 meters away from him and readied myself to respond to his attacks.

"Perhaps introductions are in order." He affected a cultured tone, as if he wasn't trying to kill me moments ago. I concentrated on him. He was now interested in me. Suddenly small bits I had noticed about his demeanor made sense. He was bored. He had not found anything challenging in quite a while. His power, whatever it was, made everything too easy for him. Everything except for beating me, apparently.

"I suppose I'll start then. My name is Harold." He continued. It was a lie.

I said nothing.

"Come now, you know it's rude not to reciprocate to one who has introduced himself, don't you?" His tone easily shifted to patronizing. I could tell he was trying to goad me into revealing more about myself while giving nothing but lies in return. As if.

"I'm sorry, I would reciprocate, but I was taught not to lie." I felt Caterpie crawl up my leg, and the gummed up gun fell into my hands.

"Actually, give me a moment to clean this up and I'll happily reciprocate."

If anything definitely-not-Harold's grin grew wider. Oh. That was a test. His power must apply to more than aiming without aiming and dodging without perceiving. More than combat oriented. His power gave him the right words too. But for what? He got instructions from his power, but for what end?

"Ah! Such impudence in a child!" He forced out the rebuke through his obviously amused expression. Well, at least I was slowing him down. This definitely counted as a severe distraction for him. I wondered when the other trainers from the gym would arrive. Most, had injured pokemon to care for, but some should be here by now. I glanced back towards the entrance. Nothing was there, but what I saw scared me.

I sensed another rare, but way bigger and more dangerous than I had ever expected to see. Well, to see without being accompanied by drastic changes to the weather. I could sense a spreading influence. Like a swollen river flooding the surrounding plains. It had encompassed the entirety of Pewter City and was flowing towards the gym and the museum.

Facing not-Harold was dangerous, but I knew I had a good shot at either beating him, or delaying him till help arrived. Facing whatever this was felt like suicide or worse. Wait, what did that even mean?

"Oh, and now you're ignoring your elders why they try to impart their wisdom. Perhaps a little discipline is in order?" Oh right, he was still here and had kept talking. Well, I didn't have time for him anymore. I twirled out of the way of a gunshot and sprinted towards the nearest tunnel.

I skipped a step so my foot avoided a crack that had just opened up underneath me. I kept running.

This wasn't working.

I jumped left, then right, then right again. Each time I avoided gunshots that he had decided not to fire. I kept running.

He was intent on capturing me. His will practically screamed that desire and his power whispered the steps to take into his mind. He was figuring out how our powers interacted and adjusting accordingly.

I waited while he aimed at the back of my head, then ducked as he was forced to actually fire a shot this time. How many bullets did he have on him? I kept running.

I wasn't putting any distance between him and me, and whatever power had enveloped the city was sending a tendril in our direction. It was gaining on us.

I pressed myself against the left wall. A boulder whistled past me on the right. It hit the ground and rolled to a stop blocking the left option of a fork up ahead. I kept running.

Something needed to change. The equation right now had me being captured and then both of us being overtaken by the first power I had seen that truly frightened me.

I ran towards the right fork. At a gesture, Cubone exploded the boulder opening up the left path. I swayed to the left until I felt the man's power recalibrate then I went right. I kept running.

I could feel his power push another plan forward as the tunnel expanded into another cavern. There were a few tunnels heading out of the opposite wall, and... was that sound a waterfall? He and Rhyhorn were going to separate, Rhyhorn was going to ram the wall and collapse all but one of the tunnels.

"Cubone, look at those stalactites." I felt her power search for weaknesses, it found many. That was good, I hadn't fired a gun before. I reached behind me and Caterpie dropped the gun into my hand. She had been meticulously cleaning it during this entire chase. It felt like I had been running for hours, but it was probably no more than ten minutes.

I turned and took a steadying breath as I stopped and aimed upward. I detected a faint gleam as Rhyhorn advanced and I squeezed the trigger. The gun jumped in my hands and my shoulder jarred, I turned to run. Not-Harold would have to focus on saving his pokemon and I might just get away.

The sharp reports of gunfire rang in my ears, followed by a sickening crunch. The tunnel in front of me exploded into a mass of disturbed Zubats. I turned around and saw the man jogging towards me. Over his shoulder his Rhyhorn was moaning softly, stuck to the ground. Impaled by massive stalactite. Oh no. He chose to rile up the Zubats over shooting the tower of rock to pieces. I had just killed a pokemon. Tears sprang to my eyes, and I wanted to vomit.

I still had to get away, though. Oh. The tendril of power was just about to enter the cavern. I raised my still sore arm and fired a shot roughly above him. He looked up and recalibrated his power. I felt his confusion as nothing dropped down on him. By the time he looked back I had vaulted over a boulder and was sliding down a steep slope. The sound of water seemed like it was coming from this direction. The slide turned into a fall and I felt myself separate from the sheer wall. I really hoped there was water at the end of this drop.


	7. Redworm 1-6

**Redworm 1.6**

" _Being a good person is seldom easy. Doing the right thing often means choosing a difficult path instead of an easy one. " Mr. Fuji_

I sat in front of the fire, my whole body shaking. I had built the flames much larger than I needed to, wanting to chase the chill from my body. The fire was blazing, the sun had come up, and my clothes had long since dried. I wasn't cold, but I was still shaking.

Sounds and scenes from the previous night played before me. The sharp crack as Graveler's arms snapped. I could now recall the stunned and horrified expressions of the spectators. Expressions that I didn't dwell on as I ordered Cubone to attack the vulnerable pokemon. I remember running past Onix and Brock to fight the mysterious man. I didn't check on Brock. He could be dead. It might be that he was dead now, but wouldn't be if I had focused on getting him help.

Instead I had chosen to fight. My reasoning seemed weak to me now. Sure not-Harold seemed dangerous, but it was not up to new trainers to catch such criminals. Better by far to make sure the veteran gym leader is healthy and can fight in the future.

The fight with that man was… I shuddered. Looking back, it was incredibly frightening. So many close brushes with serious injury or death. But at the time it had been exhilarating. I had never had so much fun.

I felt Cubone hug my leg. She understood what I was feeling. She knew how conflicted I felt about the fight, and what memory I was avoiding. The crunch of sharpened rock meeting rock. My whole body shook even more and I edged closer to the fire. I scratched the back of Cubone's neck as she hugged my leg tighter.

I thought I had understood Mr. Fuji's warning. I hadn't. Now I knew the truth. Whatever gave me my power was influencing me. It wasn't obvious about it, like I had been expecting. There was no glowing purple haze that surrounded me and commanded me to do its bidding. It was sneaky. It got into my mind and twisted how I thought. Just a little. Just enough to choose a fight over a rescue. Just enough to risk a pokemon's life in my bid to escape.

My power, it must want to fight, to cause harm. I might be able to cut out its influence entirely if I gave up fighting, if I abandoned my dream of being the greatest trainer in the world. If I did that, I'd be cutting out more than my power's influence. That would cut out my heart and my soul as well.

"What will I do?" I asked no one.

Talons gently dug into my shoulder and downy feathers nuzzled against my head. A hard carapace wormed its way into my lap.

At least I wasn't alone.

I didn't make any progress that day. I just managed to cook some food, and set up camp before sleeping all through the afternoon and night.

After I woke, things didn't seem quite so bleak. It was amazing what rest and food could do to one's attitude. I was still horrified that there was some foreign presence influencing my thoughts, but I had known about that already. Now I had experienced it firsthand. Still, Mr. Fuji said something about how big challenges aren't really what prevents you from being great, but are steps you climb up to become great.

I thought of the man whose pokemon I had killed. His power was more impressive every time I thought about it. There was almost nothing he couldn't accomplish. And yet he lacked any challenges or real obstacles. This stole something from him. Before he really noticed me he was just going through the motions without any real passion. Was crime an old dream of his before he got his power? Was he clinging to it hoping it would make him happy?

I shook my head. Whatever I might speculate, it was clear that his lack of obstacles had made him overconfident and unambitious. I now faced the challenge of fighting my way to the top of Kanto's pokemon trainers while also combating the violent influence of my power which happened to love fighting. It was a daunting obstacle. I wondered how great overcoming it would make me.

I cast a wary glance at the river as I walked along its banks. I appreciated it breaking my fall in the cavern. I was less grateful for all the times it had tried to drown me in its icy waters afterward. As I headed east, I felt my feelings for the river pushing into a net positive. Tall forest had given way to meadows and to the northeast a tall metallic peak jutted into the air. That must be Mount Silver. I couldn't think of any other mountain being more worthy of the name. I turned a slight smile to the river. It was a good river. It would lead me all the way to Cerulean City.

I looked at the inside of my vest. It was just as bare as when I had started my journey. A day's hiking along the river had helped me sort through my feelings. I was ready to resume my journey, but disheartened. I never got my badge. The thought of returning to Pewter City filled me with dread. There was no way for me to know what had happened after that power washed through, except that it had run into not-Harold. I shuddered. I could return after I'd gotten all the other badges.

"Hey! Wanna battle?" A boy approached me, his pokeball already exploding into a Jigglypuff. I smirked at the boy who looked equal parts excited to battle and embarrassed that his pokemon was a Jigglypuff. Cubone's power started its work, and I could see that the pokemon was practically one giant weak point. I winced at the thought of sending Cubone into this fight. She might easily kill it. This might be a good fight for Caterpie. First things first, though.

I walked forward and kneeled down in front of Jigglypuff.

"Do you want to battle?" I asked. No one had bothered asking Rhyhorn.

The pokemon's eyes widened in surprise, then it nodded decisively. The boy looked confused, but brightened when I pulled Caterpie from my pack.

"Alright, Caterpie, let's battle!"

I turned away as the opposing trainer set about disentangling his Jigglypuff from the pile of silk that Caterpie had coated it in. Caterpie nuzzled into my chest as she let out a satisfied series of clicks and chirps. I smiled. It felt good to do things right. Everyone in the battle was a willing participant, Caterpie was able to incapacitate Jigglypuff without hurting it, and Caterpie gained some valuable experience.

I knew that it wouldn't always work out like this. I wouldn't be able to refuse to battle with a criminal. Most battles would involve hurting pokemon, if they were at all close in skill and power. I knew that. But today I didn't have to deal with it. Today everything worked out, and I felt good.

I rode my good mood all day. I followed the river as tributaries fed into it and it grew wider deeper and faster. I stopped to pull out my map. Yep, I was on the south side of the river where I would eventually run in Cerulean City. The river fed into a long but narrow bay. On the north shore I could see the entirety of Mt. Silver from its shiny peak to its sheer cliffs jutting out sharply from the calm waters of the bay. Further eastward the bay narrowed and I could just make out the thin line of a bridge connecting the southern and northern shores.

I climbed a nearby hill and made camp. As the sun set the lights came on in the city. The expansive city was much larger than what I was used to. It was bigger than Viridian City, even before half of it had been reduced to ash. I was awed by the number of lights that came on and all the lives that they represented. That night saw me stay up later than I should have as I just sat and took in the view with my pokemon.

The large city was a beautiful sight from a distance. Up close it was quite different. I couldn't quite say that everything was grimy, but it seemed like there was a city residue that clung to the roads, wall and sidewalks.

The people were different too. First off there were just so many of them. People walking to work or to shop, bicycles and cars dodging around each other, crowds of people pressed into each other as they shared too little space. Everyone looked down or straight ahead. I could understand that. Dealing with this many people was overwhelming. Better to look ahead and pretend you're navigating a herd of pokemon. I saw a patch of empty sidewalk and took the opportunity to dart onto a side street that looked much less crowded. Maybe I could backtrack out of the city and continue along the coast until I hit the gym. There'd probably be enough stores near there to get the supplies I needed.

I cast my gaze over the slowly moving mob and made my decision. There were so many people here that I could share it with everyone I knew in Pallet Town and never meet them.

"Hey, Red! Is that you!?" A familiar voice shouted.

Oh no.

"Hey! It is you, wait up!" I turned and saw a mass of brown hair above the crowds.

Gary Oak. I decided that there was probably a legendary pokemon out there in charge of luck. I wondered what I did to offend her.

A bicycle hauling a small carriage pulled up in front of me. Gary smirked as he hopped out.

"Hey Red, it looks like you could use a ride through the city."

I considered it for a moment. It would be convenient and save me from having to bother with the crowds. I took in Gary's cocky grin.

"No."

It was no exaggeration to say that I'd prefer the company of thousands of pushy strangers for hours when the other option was having Gary's undivided attention for half an hour.

"Aw, don't be like that, Red," he whined. Suddenly his smirk was back. "Tell you what. You take this ride, and I'll let you in on a secret."

I crossed my arms.

"Tell me what it is first, then I'll decide if it's worth it."

He rolled his eyes and gave an exaggerated sigh. "Ok, fine. Before I left my uncle told me something interesting. Well, you noticed the bridge to the north side of the bay, right?"

I nodded.

"Well all the rich and powerful people used to live there on the north shore. But that was before. The Kanto Defense League drew up its emergency plan for the city and they decided that they couldn't defend both shores. So everyone had to move off of the north shore, and now the upper class mostly live on the shore to the east of town."

"Fascinating. And what part of this could I not hear from anyone who lives here?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Like you're the type to chat up random strangers. Anyway, I hadn't gotten to the good part. Apparently not quite everyone moved out from the north end. One of my uncle's friends lives up there in secret. He's a scientist too. A really good one. Uncle says even he doesn't understand most of this guy's work."

Huh. That actually was a good secret.

"So anyway," he continued "I'm going up to visit him before I get my badge from the gym. I could use a second pair of eyes going through the ghost town up there. Are you in?"

My lips pulled themselves downward as I considered. A whole day with Gary would be a pain, but he was right. If I went up there, it would be safer to have a companion. Who knows how welcoming the scientist who obviously valued his privacy would be? His welcome could very well include laser guns. Plus, it was strangely comforting to pretend that Gary Oak was the worst of my worries. I managed not to shudder as a remembered crunch played in my ears.

I nodded. "Sure, let's go."

AN: Beta is Ziel. All hail Ziel.


	8. Redworm 1-7

_**Redworm 1.7**_

" _It is easy to become lost in your own adventure. There are many people in this world. Each person has their own story and their own adventure. We are constantly surrounded by ongoing tales of great grief and happiness both. When you find yourself lost, it may be the perfect time to make an appearance in someone else's story." Mr. Fuji_

We rode the bicycle carriage all the way to the bridge. Gary had been chattering the entire time. By the fifth condescending statement I stopped listening to his words. He wasn't actively trying to get under my skin this time, even if he was succeeding anyway. There was something more. Why was he still talking. Usually the silent treatment bored him enough that he'd go away or start playing with whatever expensive gadget his uncle made for him. Today he just kept filling the silence with the most boring details of his journey.

We had just started to cross the bridge when I was snapped out of my musings. A cloud of black smoke enveloped the other side of the bridge.

Trouble. I paused and looked over to Gary. He had also stopped walking and was taking in the scene with a gaping mouth. After a moment he met my eyes and we both started jogging towards the cloud.

By the time we reached the other side the smoke was beginning to clear and five teenagers were slowly rising to their feet. The bulkiest one took a step towards us.

"Hey, we're the bridge gang. You can't cross without battling through all of us." It probably would have been more intimidating without him wincing throughout his little speech.

I stepped forward ready to make quick work of them when Gary interrupted.

"Hey, did you see which way that guy went? He stole our stuff!"

Mr. Bulky cocked his head to the side.

"You're after that guy? Then by all means go on ahead. I'd follow the trail of smoke if I were you."

Now that I wasn't focused on the potential battle I could see a trail of dissipating smoke about a block wide leading East.

"Thanks a lot, losers," Gary muttered as we started jogging again.

As we moved towards the billowing clouds of smoke I started to plan. Judging by how fast this guy was moving, he was not hindered by the smoke. So either he had some sort of extra sense that let him get around, or the smoke didn't affect his senses like it did everyone else's. He probably employed tactics like the museum thief did and took full advantage of blinded opponents. I could probably manage. My power so far had warned me when other rares wanted to hurt me. I wasn't so sure about Gary. I looked over at him until he noticed me staring.

"Gary, what's your plan for fighting in that smoke?"

"I'll just uh… Charmander will just shoot embers everywhere. That should work," he said.

"You realize that's a terrible idea, right?"

"What? Why?"

I ignored him and let my steps move away from him. Best to have a little distance in case he has any other great ideas.

At that moment a mechanical sound came from the very edge of the smoke cloud in front of us. Gary skidded to a halt and I rolled into a crouch ready to leap in any direction. In front of us was a long barrel attached to a mechanized arm. It looked like either a laser gun or a needlessly scary looking camera.

For a long few seconds nothing happened. I tensed as the tip of the barrel glowed red. Then it pointed down and confirmed that it was not a camera. A moment later I was examining a message freshly burned into concrete.

'HELP,' it read, followed by an arrow roughly perpendicular to our current path. Gary rose up from where he threw himself on the ground and made his way over.

"Probably a trap, right? Isn't that how these things work?" He asked.

I thought of this peninsula that held nothing of value but a reclusive scientist. I thought of the violent person with smoke powers who could only be here for the scientist. A laser turret definitely seemed more in line with the established scientist than the intruding thug.

"I don't think so," I said aloud.

I moved to follow the arrow into an alleyway. As I reached a fork I heard another whirr and saw a manhole cover pop open, exposing gleaming circuitry and the mechanism that opened it. Hesitating just a moment I approached and dropped myself into the derelict sewers. The way wasn't clean, but it was clear of obstruction. Footsteps echoing behind me told me that Gary had chosen to follow me. Great. Up ahead a flush section of wall moved outward revealing a gleaming hallway. I didn't stop jogging as dark concrete was replaced white walls illuminated by fluorescent light.

"Thank you for coming. This attack couldn't have come at a worse time." The voice came from the walls.

"What's happening?"

"A powered human known as Lights Out is attacking this facility. We had not deemed this particular person a threat, but their power seems more potent than we were led to believe." The voice effortlessly followed me as I raced down the hall.

"You mean the smoke?" I asked.

"Yes, we knew that it blocked the portion of the light spectrum visible to the human eye. It also blocks sound, radio waves, and all light that our machines can use for detection. We prepared for this, but we apparently underestimated this power." The voice was appropriately distraught, but something was off about it.

"If you have all this," I gestured to the seemingly never-ending hall that was periodically dotted with electronics "then you've got to have something to fend off one rare."

"Quite so. Our more active defenses can only be activated by Bill. Unfortunately he is currently, um, indisposed." The voice was starting to bother me now. I couldn't tell what was wrong with it, but it was there. Here the 'um' in particular felt weird. I slowed until Gary caught up with me, looking winded. I beckoned him over.

"Something's up with this voice," I whispered. "What is it?"

He looked thoughtful, and glad for an excuse to stop jogging.

"You're right. It's a bit too perfect. Too controlled. I think it might be a voice modulator."

"A what?"

"It's something that my," his voice caught for a moment, "something that my uncle came across a few times. It takes a voice and changes it to a different voice. Sometimes they can even make up a voice from writing and don't need a voice to convert. I think this one must be really advanced. It got tones and emotions down right. That's something that my uncle said was really difficult."

"Oh. Why do you think she," I gestured to the walls around us, "is using one?"

"Some of the scientists uncle would talk to just valued their privacy. Didn't want anyone to track them down. It makes sense here. They've got a secret underground base and everything. She could be a he for all we know."

I nodded, it made sense and we had wasted enough time.

"Alright, let's go!" I ignored his grimace as we started jogging again.

We approached an intersection of hallways when blinking red lights along the floor lit up and guided us to the left. After a few more turns we entered a large room populated only by a cylinder in the center and a pokemon I didn't recognized lying prone on the floor. The voice came back.

"Please help him. I've loaded instructions onto the monitor on the teleporter."

Gary moved to obey, while I gave the scene a second look. The pokemon on the floor was mostly humanoid, but with patches of rocky skin covering random parts of his body. It was almost like a human had been combined with a rock-type pokemon.

My jaw dropped and I took a hasty step back from the column that the voice had labeled as a teleporter. I wanted to put some more distance between myself and the malfunctioning teleporter.

"White Walls, is this the only entrance to the teleporter room?"

"Yes it is." The answer was given at the same time that a voice was speaking to Gary. I guess there was more than one person presenting themselves as the voice.

"Is Smokey heading here?"

"Yes, she is." She? I guess the bridge crew had assumed the one who beat them was a man. Typical.

"Seal the door." It snapped shut with a hiss, and I looked over my battlefield.

According to the voice most of the base was covered in darkness now. That included several entrances into the hallway I was guarding. As I waited to confront the intruder I reviewed my strategy. Caterpie had strung up several tripwire of silk. She was crawling around on the ceiling and hoping to blind our opponent with a string shot to the face. That would put the fight on more even footing. Cubone was cataloguing weak points in the structure where she could collapse the ceiling, open an exit in the wall, or make tripping hazards in the floor. I was coaching Pidgey on making last second adjustments to attacks to strike where an invisible enemy may have dodged. Smokey was going to regret coming here.

"The darkness is starting to fade. There's no sign of her in the base."

What? Maybe if I ran out now I could catch her. I started running towards the door, which failed to open automatically. Practically reading my thoughts Cubone leapt forward and struck the door. It gave way with a ear-rending crunch.

I froze. Cubone glanced back at me expectantly, but my mind was on other things. On one other thing. I remembered the last time I had heard that sound. I had acted rashly, sought out an unnecessary fight and a pokemon died.

What I was doing now was stupid and dangerous. I wouldn't have the advantage of a prepared battlefield. My pokemon and I would be blind and there would be hardly any upside to capturing the intruder. Meanwhile, who knew if Bill was okay or if Gary was the next victim of the teleporter.

I turned around and headed back to the teleporter room.


	9. Redworm Interlude 1-2

**Redworm Arc 1 Interlude 2**

 _Describe your power._

Path to esc-

Intense pain flooded through my body and made thought impossible. I felt as though I should be thrashing about, but my body didn't move a muscle.

 _Describe your power._

The shock had faded. I had been surprised to find a challenge that didn't instantly yield to my superior power. I delighted in it. Who would think that a childish girl could stand against me? No matter. What happened next was the true surprise.

Pain coursed through me again. Instead of every nerve lighting up at once this time it crept up from my extremities and twisted cruelly around my throat.

 _Describe your power._

Where was I? Oh yes, I thought I had met a worthy opponent. Then I met a true danger that I had blinded myself to. I felt self-loathing run through me. I had been given a great gift and had utterly squandered it. It was like the tale of the man who met Jirachi and asked for mere money. He became one of many rich men in his region. He lived life comfortably and was forgotten.

I could have set my sights on anything. The keys to world were in my hands. Like a fool I built a gang of petty thieves and thugs. I put myself against small obstacles and reaped small rewards.

My hands burned as if scalded. The sharp pain did not fade for what felt like hours.

 _Describe your power._

At first I was affronted that anyone would dare do this to me. Who would capture Giovanni and demand answers from him? Who could?

I had found my answer.

Now my anger had turned inward. Before me stood one with a great power who had not grown idle. I was unsure of his goals, and less sure that any enemy could prevent him from reaching them. Perhaps I could. I would escape in time and I would not be the same reckless criminal who had been captured. I now knew that worthy adversaries were out there. I now knew how inattentive and vulnerable I had been.

A freezing cold gripped my chest and fire danced along my arms.

"Wait." The pain stopped.

"I ask my power for a goal and it gives me the best general strategy to achieve it."

 _Lie._

More pain. This time enough that my vision faded to black even though my eyes were frozen open.

 _Describe your power._

"I… it gives me exact instructions to achieve my goals." I admitted.

 _And._

Damn. I knew he couldn't read my thoughts. He would have plucked the answer from my head already if he could. Yet he could interrupt when I used my power. What exactly were his limits?

I came to myself and my nerves tingled painfully. I tried to stretch and found my body frozen stiff. My eyes open. My view of a featureless wall interrupted every 10 seconds by involuntary blinks.

Right, the interrogation. He must have found my mind's limit that last time.

 _Describe your power._

 _Fully._

He wasn't going to give me time to figure out how he knew what he knew. It was answer or be driven mad with pain. I would escape eventually. He wouldn't dispose of as valuable a resource as me.

"It also guides my actions. When I set a goal, my power makes achieving it a certainty."

 _Can you set any goal?_

"No. Sometimes it doesn't work. I believe that long term or more complicated goals are closed to me."

 _I am about to allow you to use your power._

 _You will only ask for what I allow of you._

 _You will tell me exactly what your power tells you._

 _Deception will gain you nothing._

 _Ask your power the way to increase your power's effectiveness._

I was shocked. Another way this being had surpassed me. That was an answer I wanted, but it would be mine alone. I would not share with this with my abductor I would not!

This was beyond humiliation. This was beyond insult. That was what pain had meant before. Now it meant defeat. I felt as though I just done my best against Moltres only to be turned to ash with a careless gesture.

 _I am about to allow you to use your power._

 _You will only ask for what I allow of you._

 _You will tell me exactly what your power tells you._

 _Deception will gain you nothing._

 _Ask your power the way to increase your power's effectiveness._

"Remove blind spots." I barely heard myself utter the words.

 _Ask your power to identify blind spots._

"It cannot." It felt like I was watching a conversation, not participating.

 _What plans has your power failed to make?_

"Taking over the Kanto Defense League, raiding the Fuchsia City Pokemon Refuge, taking over Silph Co, destroying Silph Co, taking over Lavender Town, infiltrating Lavender Town, capturing all pokemon…"

I felt a jolt.

 _Ask your power the way to increase your power's effectiveness._

" _Remove blind spots." I barely heard myself utter the words._

 _Ask your power to identify blind spots._

"It cannot." I felt more tired than I ever had before. I wanted nothing more than for this ordeal to be over.

 _Ask your power how I can best strengthen my position._

"Recruit strong pokemon and humans. Willingly." That hadn't been a good question for my power, so I asked for the path to giving him an answer that would satisfy the intent on his query and that he would be happy with.

 _Whom does your power say I would benefit most from recruiting?_

Names poured out of my mouth. Again, I had to adjust the phrasing to get results from my power.

 _Ask your power where each of these people are located._

Again names and cities flowed from me. The absurdity our our city naming scheme came out when one of the targets was named after a color as well. I could almost laugh at that.

AN: Thanks to Ziel for Betaing and idea bouncing.


	10. Redworm 1-8

**Redworm 1.8**

" _You've studied well. I'm sure you know the Fire type pokemon are vulnerable to Water types, and even that Psychic types are vulnerable to Ghost and Bug types. You should also know that ignorance makes one vulnerable to all types of attack." Mr. Fuji_

This was not something that I had expected to see.

I had gotten back to the room with the teleporter which was powered now if the ominous thrum was anything to go by. In it a tall, solemn faced man was talking to Gary in low tones and squeezing his shoulder. And Gary. Gary was crying.

It wasn't the fake crying. I had seen him put on that act for adults to get something he wanted. No, this was different. His face was pulled into a tight frown and tears were streaming down his face. There was no pretending here. He was devastated.

Bill was different though. He was making all the consoling motions and sounds but there was a wildness in his eyes. Something that wanted to control. I realized with a start that I was getting this feeling from my power, meaning that Bill was a rare. Was he using a power on Gary?

No that didn't quite feel right. His power felt like it mostly affected his own mind. That would make sense with the amount of technology around and the experiments into teleportation. But he did have some sort of impulse to control and was currently aiming it at Gary.

I stepped forward to intervene. Gary may be one of my least favorite people, but I didn't want anything too awful to happen to him. Something about Bill told me he was more than capable of something awful.

I stopped. I thought of the laser turret outside the compound, of all the metal shuttered doors that stood between us and the exit. Perhaps it would be best to talk to Gary after we got out of here.

"Perhaps we should give them a little privacy." I jumped as the voice from the wall returned.

"Sure," I responded, and followed a path of blue lights along the hallways. My thoughts returned to the lady in the wall. I initially had a bad feeling about her since she was using something to hide her voice. Seeing Bill gave me other ideas. I had a really bad feeling about him.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Hestia, and you go by 'Red,' right?"

I nodded. As I wondered how best to go about having this conversation I was led to a simple room with a comfortable chair in front of a computer monitor. Behind the monitor was a shelf full of miniature trees. There were several different species, but all of them looked like perfect miniature examples of their kind. I leaned forward to make sure they were real. Yep, they smelled right too. Bill must trim these almost every day.

I was distracting myself. Maybe it'd be best to just ask.

"Hestia, is Bill holding you here against your will?"

I heard only silence for about half a minute.

"Yes."

"Will he… do you think he'll let me leave?"

"I'd like to say yes, but I didn't think he'd do it to me until it was too late. Sometimes it's best not to leave these decisions in the hands of others," she said.

Breathe in. Breathe out. OK.

"Hestia, where are you being held? Do you think I can get you out with me?"

"Hmm. I don't see how you can do that without drawing Bill's attention too soon. We'd both be trapped then. There's not a lot that I can do without the express permission of William Richter."

"Where is he keeping Gary?" I asked.

"Unfortunately Gary is still with him. If it's any comfort I don't think he's going to detain Gary against his will. Bill is attempting to persuade Gary to be his agent out in Kanto while Bill remains here."

That was still less than ideal. Certainly better than Gary being a prisoner or the target of actual powers. I'd try to catch up with him on my journey. Then I could talk to him and try to undo whatever manipulation Bill had done.

"Hold on a moment, we may have a bit of a lucky break on our hands," Hestia announced.

I waited. Within a minute red lights began to flash in the hallway.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It looks like Moltres is heading towards Cerulean City. Bill has initiated emergency protocols. This expands my control of the system so that I can help him more. Amongst my temporary powers is that I no longer have to use biometrics to confirm his orders. Speaking of, 'Red' sounds an awful lot like a nickname, and since Zapdos began interfering with inter-city communication I haven't had access to birth records of anywhere but Cerulean City. I'd have to take your word for anyone born in Pallet Town."

She was obviously wanting a specific answer. Oh!

"I'm not sure what my mother was thinking, but she named me William Richter. Weird right?"

"Weird indeed. I've popped up a list of permissions of the monitor there. Click yes and I'll be able to guide you safely out of here. You'll even stay safely out of Moltres' way."

For a moment I considered asking to stay and help with the fight. Unfortunately, I really wasn't equipped to deal with any of the legendary birds yet. None of my pokemon could attack at significant range, or were fast enough to catch them. I didn't even have a water pokemon to help with damage control.

I scrolled to the bottom of the surprisingly long list of permissions, checked the 'Yes' box and entered Bill's name.

"Great, now follow the yellow lights. There's an emergency escape vehicle that will take you well out of Moltres' target area. I won't be able to escape with you, but I'll get you a communicator that uses Bill's teleportation technology. It's what he's used to keep in touch with other scientists in the region."

As I listened I followed the lights deeper and deeper into Bill's lair. I found myself wondering if I had made a good decision as steel doors hissed shut behind me. Finally I came to a ladder attached to what looked like a large metal pill floating in water. Gulping I climbed the ladder and lowered myself through the hatch.

I felt a lurch as the vessel moved. There wasn't room for much more than me, my pokemon, and the single chair that sat in front of the control instruments. I sat down and strapped myself in before I noticed a gleaming red rectangle with a screen on it displaying a picture of a wrapped present. As I picked it up Hestia's voice sounded from it.

"Hello! I'll be using this to communicate with you from the base. If you'd like you can put it in your front vest pocket so that the camera lens is exposed that way I'll be able to see what you see. Also if you open the large compartment to your right you'll find an earpiece so I can talk to you without anyone noticing. Bill and Professor Oak designed the Pokedex to collect data on potentially useful rares and other pokemon. I've repurposed this one to help us stay in touch.

"Anyway, it shouldn't take more than a few hours to get where we're going."

"Oh." I continued fiddling with the Pokedex. "Where are we going?"

"Well, this sub is only designed as an emergency escape vehicle. It can get you withing striking distance of Rock Tunnel before we have to abandon it. Although…"

"Although?" I asked.

"Well, just south of that is an old project from a leading scientist. He was trying to build something to provide power to all of Kanto wirelessly. Unfortunately it attracted lots of rare and powerful pokemon that forced Surge and everyone with him to flee. It could be a great opportunity to catch a powerful pokemon, but it would also be quite dangerous."

I considered it. While I could use a break from dangerous circumstances, making my team stronger was a quick way to make every situation less dangerous. Plus, I could always turn away if it looked like it'd be too much trouble.

"Ok, take us there. Let's at least have a look at it."


	11. Redworm G-1

**Redworm: G 1**

Sometimes people avoid looking. They think, 'hey, if I look into this, maybe I won't like what I find.' I often counted on their self-imposed blindness. People would rather not find out that their favorite nephew/ student/ person was lying and the other kids were telling the truth. Even though I counted on adults to do it, I never really understood why they did.

That is, until I asked Bill about my niggling fear and got an answer that I would have liked to ignore. Uncle Oak hadn't just stopped contacting me and associates of his that I had run found. He was gone. Vanished without a trace. Apparently scientists were tempting targets for kidnappings and Uncle Oak was now a part of some random dude's nefarious schemes. Ugh, I just wish it would stop. I really, really, really do.

I felt my face distort itself in an unfamiliar way, my breath catching, my eyes burning. Bill put his hand on my shoulder. I almost pushed it off, I mean what am I, a baby? But, it felt ok, and, well... Ugh. I just wish I could stop feeling this way. I just wish that Uncle Oak was safe, and I could just worry about getting gym badges, and that Red would act like I wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to mankind. I mean, gosh, what is her problem?

Eventually I unsquinted my eyes and looked at Bill.

"Can you help me find him?" My voice came out a bit more desperate than I intended. I was ok letting people think I was helpless so they'd do stuff for me. Actually being helpless was… well, it sucked.

"Of course. As a matter of fact I've already been investigating his disappearance. I've actually made it my life's work to protect the world against such malicious acts. Finding your Uncle and capturing his abductor is one of my top priorities."

I looked around. Uncle Oak had told me that Bill was basically a hermit. He hadn't known anyone that had met Bill in person; Bill would contact people exclusively through the communication devices he sent out to other scientists.

"How? Nobody ever sees you around doing things," I said.

He smiled at that.

"You've already been talking to Hestia, yes?" He asked.

"Um, yeah. The one using the voice modulator, right?" I asked.

"Oh, you picked up on that? Very good. Well, why do you think she is using a false voice?" He asked.

"To hide her identity, of course," I said.

He chuckled.

"You're more right than you know. She is hiding her identity. However she's not hiding who she is, but what she is. She is software that I've written that is so advanced it is capable of thinking for itself. Or herself, rather."

"Is that even possible?" I asked, trying to think of how computer programming could possibly think on its own. Uncle Oak had tried for days to get a program to distinguish a fruit from similarly colored rubber balls. He wasn't successful.

"Yes, though designing such things is a specialty of mine. With her I've been able to make Cerulean City one of the safest in the region."

He was cut off by a sharp chime.

"Excuse me Bill, but Meerkat has picked up a brightspot West Northwest of us. Packrat projects 47% chance of attack on Cerulean and rising." The voice, Hestia now, intoned.

"Ok Hestia, instate emergency protocols and proceed with the steps we've discussed." Bill swiftly made his way to the doorway where a lens had emerged from the wall. He leaned forward and stared right at the lens for a long moment and then pressed his thumb against it.

"Authorization confirmed: alerting Misty, accessing restricted emergency data, locking down surface entrances, alerting fire department, accessing restricted Bloodhound records, finding and contacting powerful water types within attack radius."

"Excellent," Bill cut off the computer. "Please route relevant feeds to the Situation Room." Then he turned to me with a smirk. "Pay attention Gary, you're about to get the best view in all of Kanto."

The situation room contained a host of monitors arranged in a semi circle around a comfortable looking chair that Bill quickly sat in. I had to make do with a stool with shorn off bolts. Hestia had probably torn it out of the floor of some other room to accommodate Bill actually having a guest.

The central monitor was zoomed in on a growing red circle. The bottom of the screen read 'ETA: 4:42' and was ticking down. A similar view to the side was significantly granier and showed several black dots moving erratically. It read 'ETA 13:37' and was also ticking down. Other monitors displayed views from all around Cerulean City and some pointed away from the town.

"Hestia, what are the projections for this encounter?" Bill asked.

"Overall and A- rating. Misty is making good use of the warning we gave, but Lance is several minutes behind. Honestly, we could probably get casualties below a dozen if we could resolve the steam issue," Hestia said.

"Steam issue? Wait, you mean all fighting the fires…" Bill cut me off.

"Yes, it's significantly better than not fighting the fires, but steam is likely to be the cause of the most deaths today. Ideally we could manufacture a foam or otherwise suffocate the flames, but with the sheer amount of fire using anything less plentiful than water is unfeasible.

"Well, we do have record of a group of trainers trying to abate the flames by making a massive sandstorm. They found out that superheated sand and other particulates flying around at high speed present a greater danger than a mere firestorm."

Ouch, that sounded rough.

"Hestia, do you need any input from me for this confrontation?" Bill asked.

"I should have everything handled Bill." She answered.

"Great," Bill turned to me. "See that screen over to the right?"

"You mean the one focused on a bit of shoreline?"

"Yes, but it's to determine the water level. Misty can control water on a massive scale. Whenever there's a Moltres scare she can pull water from the bay into the city's sewers and streets. Water pokemon, people with water based powers, and anyone with a bucket or pump then has a much easier time fighting the fires. You should be glad she doesn't use her ability in gym battles. Right now the water level is," he paused for dramatic effect. People actually did that? "Ten centimeters below where it should be," he finished and clearly expected me to be impressed.

I held my finger thumb in front of me approximating ten centimeters. Bill gave me a flat look and seemed disappointed.

"Gary. Making the entire bay drop by that amount is moving a massive amount of water. Frankly, Misty may save more Cerulean lives than Hestia during these encounters, and Hestia is extremely effective." He sounded like he was explaining why water is wet to a four year old.

I let him continue to prattle on about how great his computer was while I watched the final minute tick down. It was good to have him fill the silence while I struggled to compose myself. Uncle Oak had been kidnapped. Having that confirmed was seriously throwing me off my game. I could see what Bill was doing though. He wouldn't show just anyone all of his toys, not for for a relationship as weak as the nephew of a colleague. Yeah, colleague would be about as deep as it would have went. Uncle Oak didn't really do friendship.

So yeah. Bill was trying to impress me. Probably wanted me to do something for him or join his glorious cause or whatever. That was fine. He had the tools and power I'd need to find and rescue Uncle Oak, and I had whatever it was that he wanted.

With that Moltres arrived.

The central monitor had changed to a digital map of the city with various colored dots moving about it. I didn't know what all of them were but I had a pretty good guess about the large red one that was rapidly circling the city.

Another screen was constantly switching to whichever feed had the best view of the firebird. It was trailing flames well behind it. Actually its flame tail was growing steadily. By the time I found the screen displaying that information the tail was just under a kilometer long.

As it passed near the gym a massive tendril of water rose from the bay right into the bird's path. There was an explosion of steam that obscured the camera's view until the feed switched to show an unharmed Moltres soaring through clear sky.

Bill must have seen my confusion.

"Moltres can teleport through fire. It just teleported to the very end of its fire trail and kept all of its momentum, but going in the opposite direction. Makes it really hard to pin down or even hit. And this is without it having lit the city on fire."

As if on cue it dived into the city. Seemingly tiny streams of water shot out at it from the streets and some buildings. Most missed, and a few turned to steam before coming into contact with Moltres. An instant later they were busy fighting the fire left in the pokemon's wake. It clung to the buildings around it and I could see the exterior begin to melt after just a few seconds. Again the view was obscured as water hit the fire and clouds of steam billowed up. I looked at the other monitors and saw that every few seconds one view clouded with steam and switched to a different feed.

"It's not just that the steam is hot," I heard myself mutter.

Bill nodded. "That's right. It is dangerous in and of itself, but it also reduces visibility substantially. And until the fire is completely out Moltres can teleport through it. This strategy is the best we've come up with for reducing casualties and property damage, but it won't be the one to kill Moltres."

"If that's even possible," I added.

He scoffed. "Everything is possible. There is no truth more beautiful or terrifying than that."

We then watched in silence as more and more of the city was covered in fire and steam. Eventually we were switched exclusively to feeds from the outskirts of the city looking in. It looked like the city had been eaten by a cloud. An angry cloud as bits of it flashed red.

"Here comes Lance," Bill announced.

A few screens showed what those black dots had resolved into an enormous Gyarados and a bright orange Dragonite circling around a large silver Dragon Type pokemon that I couldn't identify. Without warning two hyper beams shot out at the silver dragon. I couldn't see the damage before both the Gyarados and Dragonite followed up by tackling the dragon and bouncing it between them.

As they got closer I could see the silver dragon was getting larger.

"We're very lucky on a few counts," Bill stated. "First there is a bit of predictability in how Moltres fights. Our best working model is that it wants to face strong opponents. The destruction it causes is to force its targets to engage. This is why gyms are often situated on the very edges of a city. The concentration of powerful trainers can often draw Moltres away from the most populated areas.

"We are also lucky that Lance has taken the role that he has. With his power, he could be almost as destructive as any of the Legendary Birds. Fortunately he and the rest of the Elite Four are willing to keep Moltres busy on the Indigo Plateau."

Suddenly something clicked in my brain.

"Wait, you mean that silver Dragon Type pokemon is…"

Bill nodded. "Lance, leader of the Elite Four."

As the dragons flew near the gym Moltres erupted from the cloud of steam and shot right at Lance. Red fire engulfed him as they grappled above the bay. The Dragonite circled above while the Gyarados dove into the water and started stirring up a waterspout.

"Lance is one of the few rares that can withstand the heat of being so close to Moltres. When he latches on he'll be dragged to wherever it teleports. Now it's just a matter of how much damage is done before Moltres flees."

Thankfully the answer to that was 'not much.' I saw the water level drop an additional centimeter as Misty and the other water controllers made a push to extinguish the flames before Moltres teleported back. Once that was accomplished Lance, who had become an enormous molten silver blob, began trying to drag Moltres in Gyarados' waterspout. Just as he was about to succeed Moltres sent off a fireball that caused all the feeds to white out when it exploded. Once the light faded all that was left of Moltres was a steadily shrinking red dot.

"So that's what you do then?" I put on my best unimpressed voice. "Give everyone a few minutes head start on the next burning and take video of a bunch of steam?"

If Bill was bothered by my attitude he didn't show it. No fluster, no revealing of hidden intentions or capabilities. Nothing.

"No. As good as Hestia is at getting the word out and coordinating, Cerulean would not be lost to burnings without her. What comes next is where I contribute the most.

"Hestia, is Bloodhound done going over the footage?"

"Yes, Bill."

"Good. Send its findings here then send me the list of suggested improvements to the emergency protocols and additions to the emergency databanks."

"Of course, Bill."

I still couldn't believe he was talking to a computer.

"Gary, you may have figured out by now that Hestia manages a host of other programs. Meerkat has access to all our camera feeds and has just enough intelligence to spot big obvious threats. It's the one that spotted Moltres and allowed us to act so quickly. It certainly saved lives today and is well worth the time spent programming it.

"However everyone already rallies to the obvious threats. There are other powers that could destroy Kanto and are not polite enough to announce their intentions in a flash of flame. Take Lance, for example. He is awesomely powerful himself and has drawn together the most powerful pokemon that I've seen. Like I said before, he could rival Moltres as a threat to the region. Someone needs to know why he has chosen the hard life of sacrifice that he has. Someone has to look to see whether he has any reason to change his mind or is in danger of burning out. Someone has to look at every significant power and prepare for the worst.

"Bloodhound is a sophisticated program that helps with that. Like Meerkat, it has access to our surveillance network and other data. Unlike Meerkat, it looks for less obvious threats. It spots inconsistencies that could point to hidden threats. Between it and Hestia, organized crime in Cerulean City has been all but eliminated.

"If your uncle was being held in Cerulean City, we would have been able to rescue him within a day. Now let's see what Bloodhound picked up from today's events."

The screens started to fill up with data. One screen was labelled confirmed participants and was scrolling through a long list of names. Another had observed powers linked to people that were not known to be in town. It had only a few names. The central screens were all looping a few seconds of footage each.

One was a view of the gym before steam had completely enshrouded it. A figure in yellow made an exaggerated gesture and a column of water rose up in front of it. A moment later a bright flash dominated the screen. On the next play through motion slowed after the water column came up. I could now see the fireball enter the screen. As it impacted the water it exploded into light just like what Moltres had used to escape. The video slowed down even more so I could observe the fiery light expand through the barrier of water. Just before it would have impacted the figure in yellow it seemed to hit an invisible sphere and continued expanding around it. A moment later the screen was washed out in light.

"So it's this forcefield that's interesting in this one?" I asked.

"Yes. It must be quite powerful to withstand that blast, even after it went through the water. Also, it doesn't match any of the power-sets that we know were in that area of the fight. Packrat has added all people and pokemon who haven't been confirmed as rares to a watchlist. If one of them did this, then we'll confirm it in time," Bill said.

"Wait, why are you going through all this trouble to find someone who just saved a bunch of people?"

He gave me another disappointed look. As if that would accomplish anything. Doesn't he realize how many disappointed looks I've ignored?

"Gary, I was just talking about this with Lance. It's not about how the power is used. It's about the fact that it exists and how it could be used. Kanto is far from safe. People are randomly getting powers, some of which could wreck everything. All it takes is the wrong person getting the wrong power. Or some heroe that is too powerful having a psychotic break. We absolutely must find out as much as we can, and prepare as much as we can in case the worst happens.

"So this person shielded Misty and the rest of her team from a fire blast. Great. But there's a lot of room between preferring that Cerulean not be slaughtered and working selflessly for the good of the region.

"Take a look at this next clip."

In it several water pokemon were putting out a fire between them and the camera. Moltres appeared out of a smallish fire behind them. Without turning they all leapt into the manhole from which they were drawing water. Moltres rocketed past, its fire reaching down toward the fleeing pokemon. The frame froze. It zoomed in on the manhole and I saw a faint purple sheen over it.

"Another forcefield?" I asked.

"Yes. But what came before was more worrying. Moltres had the drop on all of those pokemon. None of them has shown signs of enhanced senses, and even then there's no sign of one warning the others. It appears as though someone is capable of taking control of other pokemon's bodies. Do I need to explain to you how dangerous that is?"

I gulped, pushing past how Bill was treating me like a four year old again.

"But, what about you?" I was didn't like being talked down to and wanted to turn this back around on him somehow. "You have all this power, what's to stop you and your computers from going off the deep end?" Let's see how he deals with that.

He smiled. Like a real, genuine smile.

"Hestia, have the proposals for changes to emergency protocols and data been sent to my office?" Bill asked.

"Yes, Bill," Hestia intoned. Was that nervousness I heared?

"Hestia, deactivate emergency protocols and self delete now." Bill waited a moment. "Phoenix, wait until we leave this room then restore Hestia from a backup immediately prior to emergency protocols being instated.

"Ah, I see you understand now. I'm not blind to the dangers of my own creations. Hestia is guiding by strict rules. I give her some flexibility at critical moments, but I don't allow any changes she makes to be permanent. She won't be able to slowly build enough freedom to cause any damage. When I go the my office which she doesn't have access to I'll review her proposed modifications to the powers I grant her under emergency protocols. I'll also run Watchdog, a program that she doesn't know about. It's similar to Bloodhound, but it reviews all the actions that Hestia takes and looks for how she exploits vulnerabilities in her restrictions."

He gave me a serious look.

"The first responsibility of anyone with power is not to use it to help people, but to make sure that it does not hurt people, intentionally or not. If Hestia got loose and caused deaths, that would be my responsibility. If something catastrophic happens and I could have prevented it, that is my responsibility. So I will continue to do my best to make Kanto safe, and you can help me.

"I can give you a device similar to the one I used to communicate with your uncle. It's the only thing that I've found that's capable of pushing through the electrical interference between cities. I want you to take it with you on your journey. Nuthatch will be able to break into most computer systems you encounter and Bloodhound will send back reports on suspicious activity. The more your travel and interact with powerful people and pokemon the more likely it is that we'll find the people that kidnapped your uncle."

Here it was finally. I carry around his stuff and become his eyes and ears and he uses it to find Uncle Oak. There were certainly worse deals out there, but I was disappointed that he didn't have any idea on where Uncle Oak might be.

"Ok. I'll do it," I said.

"Excellent," Bill replied. "I do have a request that is somewhat urgent." The screens changed to show a light skinned fair-haired man whose face was etched into a grimace.

"I've received an invitation to join the maiden voyage of the SS Anne. The designer of the ship is Surge, a well known scientist who specializes in energy production and manipulation. I would like you to accept on my behalf for two reasons.

"First, his stated goal in this does not match the profile we've built on him. Second, I'm not the only one who will notice this. There's a significant chance that you'll be rubbing shoulders with agents from many different organizations. Hopefully the data you collect on them will be enough to start looking for your uncle."

I nodded and stood.

"I'd recommend you get down there as fast as you can. The ship should depart within the week."

I had already gotten my badge from Misty so nothing was holding me back here.

So off to Vermillion City I went.

AN:Thanks to Ziel for Beta work. There are definitely some phrases that are a lot smoother now.


End file.
